Icebreaker
by LastAboard
Summary: Emmett Cullen just wants to find his shy, introverted brother a date. When Bella Swan comes face to face with the man she thinks blew her off, Emmett sees that online dating on behalf of his brother might not have been such a brilliant idea. Or was it?
1. Prologue

**Hi everyone! Well, it's snowing. A lot of you may be saying "So what? It's winter (well, in the northern hemisphere), what's the big deal?" I'll tell you the big deal. The big deal is that I'm from Seattle, and while we Seattlites are good at a lot of things, snow management is not one of them. I have been stuck inside for two days straight. Instead of going crazy, I decided to indulge myself in starting to write on a new story.**

**For any of you who are reading _Wanderlust_, never fear, my writing of this story shouldn't interfere with that. In fact, you'll probably get a _Wanderlust_ update tomorrow. This story will probably have shorter chapters than WL though...**

**Enjoy!**

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><p><strong>I do not own Twilight or any of its characters. No copyright infringement is intended. This story is rated M and intended for readers over the age of 18. Please ask my permission before reproducing, but if you want to rec, rec away and thanks for your support!<strong>

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><p>ICEBREAKER<p>

PROLOGUE

"Okay. Almost done. If I thought this would take so long, I wouldn't have bothered."

"Yeah, well, I'm pretty sure we shouldn't be doing this anyway."

"No one's forcing you to sit here, dude," Emmett says.

Jasper sighs. "I know. Continue."

"Username." Emmett smirks and types the characters in slowly.

"Maverick84? Are you serious? What a douche bag name." Jasper looks incredulously at Emmett.

"No, it's awesome. It's like, Top Gun, you know. Women love that shit."

"I suppose now would be the wrong time to point out to you how homoerotic that movie really is?" Jasper asks, but Emmett ignores him.

"Alright. Hair. Gingery brown," Emmett snickers and clicks on the arrow to view the choices.

"I think they call that auburn," Jasper says.

"Hmm. Whatever. Eyes. Green. Grey. No, green."

"Height. Um…well, he's shorter than me and I'm six-three. But he's taller than you. How tall are you?" Emmett turns and raises his eyebrows at Jasper.

Jasper shrugs. "Six foot."

"Let's go with six-two."

"What is he looking for in a girl?" Emmett reads off the screen. "Well, that's easy. Must be female. And not gross. I think that about covers it."

"Jesus, Emmett, come on. He's already going to be mad at us. We should at least soften the blow by making sure it's someone he'd like."

"Okay then, you finish this." Emmett stands up and waits for Jasper to switch places with him. Jasper sits down and takes the mouse in his hand, hovering over the preferences section.

"Any color hair or eyes. Not taller than maybe five-eight. He doesn't want a giant." Jasper muses.

"Hey, watch it, dick! Rosie's probably five-nine or five-ten."

"Sorry. I guess that's not really a giant. I just don't see him with a really tall girl. He always likes the short ones, you know?"

"No, actually, I don't know. I've seen him go on one date since, well, you know, and I thought she was pretty average."

_Bzzzzzz._ _Bzzzzz._

"Oh shit! That's him. Hurry up, click finish." Emmett gets out of his chair and goes to the intercom by the door, turning to look at the computer screen as he goes then hits the button to unlock it without using the intercom. "Now, dude! Do it now!"

"Okay, I'm trying, fuck!" Jasper growls.

Jasper closes the internet window about four seconds before the door swings open.

"What's up?" Edward asks as he walks into the kitchen, depositing a six pack of beer and a few bags of chips onto the counter.

"Nothing," Jasper and Emmett answer at the same time.

"Cool," Edward says, shoving his glasses further up his nose and twisting the top off of one of the beers before wandering into the living room.

"Do NOT say anything, dude." Emmett points the neck of the beer he grabs from the case at Jasper. "Desperate times call for desperate measures."

"Oh, believe me, I won't. I'm pretty sure I could have my manhood revoked for shit like this,"

"He'll thank us later."

"Somehow I doubt that." Jasper shakes his head and follows Edward in to watch the soccer match.

#IB#

_Three Days Later_

"This one looks like a mess," Emmett says as he scrolls through the potential matches in the queue. "I mean, I'm all for low maintenance, but geez. What do you think she looks like when she's _not_ trying to get a date?"

Jasper leans over from his side of the couch and glances at the laptop screen and winces. "Oh, shit. That's rough. Look, somebody sent him an icebreaker."

Emmett rejects the match on the screen then slides his finger across the touch pad and clicks on the picture next to the words 'Your profile made me smile!'

Emmett and Jasper read over the details of the profile that pops up.

"Brown hair, brown eyes, boring," Emmett says, without bothering to look at the other posted pictures. "And it says she works for the government. Lame."

Emmett opens the message sent by the girl: "Hi Maverick84, I loved your profile – I think we could have a lot in common. Coffee sometime?" Emmett quickly types in a short message: "Thanks, but no thanks."

"Thanks, but no thanks? What was wrong with her?" Jasper asks then tips his beer back for a sip.

"I don't think she seemed that interesting. And she was kind of mousy looking."

"Just because she's not a Rosalie doesn't mean she's mousy, Emmett. Are we looking for a model or are we looking to get him a date?"

"Okay, fine. It's too late for that one, though. I already closed it."

Emmett's phone goes off and the screen flashes with a text message from Edward: _Hey. What are you doing?_

Jasper laughs. "It's like that kid has a sixth sense for when you're doing something you shouldn't be."

"He'll thank me later."

"You keep sayin' that, man. You keep sayin' that."

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><p><strong>PSA: Don't take Emmett's example. If you want to be a wingman for your friend, do it the old-fashioned way.<strong>

**Review and tell me what you think, I love to hear from you!**

**LA**


	2. Chapter 1

**Note: I posted two chapters for this in one day, so if you haven't read the prologue, go back and read that first!**

**Enjoy!**

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><p><strong>I don't own Twilight or its characters. No copyright infringement is intended. This story is rated M and intended for readers over the age of 18. <strong>

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><p>ICEBREAKER<p>

CHAPTER 1

"You guys did what?" Rosalie shrieks into her phone. I glance up and catch Alice's eye in the rearview mirror as she drives toward the restaurant where we'll be having lunch. "Emmett McCarty Cullen, why do you torture him like this?"

Rosalie is quiet while she listens to her boyfriend's explanation for why he did whatever he did. Whatever it is, she clearly isn't pleased with him. "Yeah, right. I doubt Jasper had much to do with this. You two just leave him be. He'll do it when he's ready."

She's quiet again for another second. "I don't want to hear about it, Emmett. Just stop. I don't plan on dating a bully. I mean it."

She lets him talk a bit more before her voice softens. "Okay. I know you do. I love you too."

Rosalie ends the call and throws her phone into her bag.

"Emmett and Jasper are meddling again?" Alice asks. I can see her eyebrow arch in question in the mirror.

"Are they ever. They've reached a new low."

"God. What a couple of girls."

Alice swings her yellow BMW M3 into a parking space at the bar where we have decided to have lunch. It's a pretty hot day, irregularly so for Seattle, and we're all tired from unpacking my stuff in my apartment. When Alice suggested margaritas on a deck overlooking Lake Union, it took me and Rosalie about a half second to agree.

Alice slides her seat forward for me and I try to unfold myself as gracefully as possible from the car. God knows you have to make sure you're not doing anything embarrassing when riding around in a canary yellow car – it draws enough attention on its own. Alice had always wanted a yellow car (actually, a yellow Porsche) and her father promised one to her if and when she finished her master's degree. She did that, maybe against his expectations, and he convinced her that a BMW was the way to go because she could fit more of her friends into it. I think he was actually trying to give his pocketbook a break, even though that's a little ridiculous to say considering the car she got cost over sixty thousand dollars.

Once we're seated on the sunny deck under the shade of a large umbrella, we sit back and wait for the waiter to bring out drinks and just soak in the beauty of the day. The sun sparkles off of the water and glints off of the shiny windows of the high-rises downtown while boats with stark white sails drift around the lake and out toward the sound. Seattle really is a beautiful city, even though every time I come back, it seems much smaller than I remember it. I guess anything will seem small after ten years in New York.

Up until moving back here two weeks ago, I hadn't been back to Seattle in almost six years. After my dad died, Alice started to come visit me in New York. I wasn't ready to come home – not when Charlie wasn't there anymore. But after awhile, the homesickness started to set in and eventually it outweighed my fears that it would make me miss Charlie too much. I'd worked past the initial grief and even though the sadness was still there, I felt like I might be able to ease it with things that were familiar to me from when I still had him. One day, while perusing the articles on the law school alumni newsletter, I clicked on the employment advertisement link. My eyes landed on something interesting, but seemingly out of my reach: Assistant District Attorney, King County, Washington State. My first reaction was that I wasn't qualified for this. Having taken a couple of years off between undergrad and law school, I'd only graduated last year. But I had done well in the firm I was working in and had interned with a couple of attorneys who'd probably give me recommendations. So I applied. And I got an interview, and then another interview. And here I am.

Alice was ecstatic when I told her I'd decided to move back and took it upon herself to search for apartments I might like, which came in quite handy once I actually started looking. While it wasn't Manhattan expensive, Seattle was still one of the priciest cities in the U.S. and I knew I'd have to look a bit to find something that suited me but wasn't grossly out of my price range. After all, I wasn't in private practice anymore and would be operating on a county employee salary. I mean, public jobs had great benefits, but the liquid cash wasn't exactly pouring in.

I flew out to Washington two weeks before I'd actually be moving and checked out some of Alice's finds. There was a cute mid-century place in Greenlake, complete with a black and white checkered kitchen floor and appliances that could have easily been in an episode of _I Love Lucy_, but it had a severe lack of closet space. High school Bella wouldn't have had an issue with that, but a decade in New York had changed my fashion habits considerably. The next place was in a modern building in Belltown and was beautiful but even smaller than my apartment in New York. Plus, I was guessing by the crack deal going down across the street, venturing outside by myself at night might not have been a possibility. The last place I looked at was a renovated loft in Ballard with hardwood floors and exposed brick walls. There were floor to ceiling windows and it was on the main drag – I could easily and safely walk to the store, to a restaurant, to a bar. I was barely there five minutes before I was asking to sign the lease.

Alice came out to New York two days before I was set to leave and helped me pack up the moving truck I rented to take my stuff back to Seattle. I had played around with the idea of hiring movers, but I really didn't have all that much stuff – the biggest volume of anything I had was clothing – so I figured I could bring it myself. I wasn't concerned about road conditions since it was summer and I figured I'd just drive to Boston and get on I-90, it'd be a straight shot from there. When I told Alice about my plan, she insisted on doing it with me. She said she's always wanted to take a road trip and when I argued that it wasn't going to be all that interesting, she said she didn't want me to do it alone. I had to admit that I hadn't been looking forward to three days of straight driving by myself and I couldn't think of anyone I'd rather do it with than my best friend.

So, two weeks ago, I watched New York City disappear in my rearview mirror as I drove toward Boston and listened to Alice talk excitedly about how great it would be for us to be able to see each other every day and how she couldn't wait for me to spend time with her friend Rosalie and 'the boys', who she said were Rose's boyfriend, his roommate and sometimes his little brother.

Alice had said that I'd like Rosalie instantly, and she was right. I'd never met her in person before moving back to Seattle – Alice met her at work a couple of years ago during the time that I wasn't too big on visiting. Rose was beautiful, statuesque in fact, and I learned from Alice during our drive that Rose worked her way through college on money she earned in modeling gigs. If I hadn't believed it before, her wavy blonde hair, ice blue eyes and perfect, porcelain skin would have sold me. She wasn't stick thin, more like a pin-up girl look, and I was betting she had men falling at her feet wherever she went. In the first ten minutes that I met Rose, she brought me a gigantic plate of homemade cookies, told me my shoes were 'fucking hot' and offered to help me unpack my stuff when I was ready. Oh yeah, I liked her alright.

"So, you guys are invited to Em's apartment for dinner tonight," Rose says after she finishes the last bite of her spicy macaroni and cheese. She recommended it when I was looking at the happy hour menu and I was not disappointed. My mouth was burning from the heat of the jalapeno, but I just couldn't stop eating it.

"Cool. We can pick up some drinks and stuff on the way home. Do you know what he's making?" Alice asks.

"I doubt he's making anything," Rose tells her, "I think he's ordering pizza. Is that okay, Bella?"

"Yeah, that's good. Thanks for inviting me." I smile at her and finish my margarita.

Alice drops Rose off at her house on the way back to my apartment with a promise to see her at Emmett's in a couple of hours.

"I really appreciate you guys helping me unpack all of my stuff," I tell Alice as we drive around the Lake Union, past Gasworks Park. "Work's been so busy the last couple of weeks; I just don't have the energy when I get home."

"Yeah, I know what you mean. I need to go through my closet and get rid of some stuff really bad, but I just ended up watching a lot of TV last week."

"Me too," I agree. "I did do one thing productive though. Well, maybe. I thought I'd try out online dating. Maybe meet some guys since I'm essentially new here."

"Oh, yeah? I've heard that some huge number of couples start out with online dating now. It's probably a good way for you to meet people since you're so busy with work."

"Yeah, I thought so too. It can be kind of harsh though, you know? I mean, you don't have the benefit of seeing someone in action so it's kind of hard to judge. You don't really know who's receptive. No vibes if they're attracted to you or not. I feel like every time I've put myself out there, nothing really comes of it."

Alice frowns. "Like they just ignore it, or what?"

"Yeah, sometimes. I don't mind that, though. I'm guilty of that myself."

"Okay…" Alice looks confused. "So what's harsh about it then?"

"Oh…well, this one guy, his profile seemed good enough. Educated. Maybe a little nerdy, sort of a fixer-upper, you know? Cute though. Definitely has potential. Well, I sent him a message to see if he wanted to have coffee or something and do know what he said? Thanks, but no thanks. That's it. Not, 'thank you but I've just started seeing someone else' or anything to soften the blow, even if it's not true. I guess I just thought it came off a little douchey. It's not a big deal though."

"Well, honey, I don't know what to tell you. Guys can be kind of blunt sometimes."

"I'll say."

#IB#

Alice drops me off at my apartment and I have just enough time to wash and dry my hair, put on some makeup and get dressed. I'm wearing dark skinny jeans and a tissue-thin white Henley tied in a knot at the waist to keep it from hanging down. You can just barely see my black bra through the white fabric and while I would have worn this in New York without a thought, I'm suddenly concerned that it might be risqué and add a white camisole under my shirt. I pick a simple necklace and am slipping on my sparkly black flats when Alice rings the buzzer.

I grab my phone and keys, check my door twice to make sure it's locked, and hurry out the door to Alice's car. Rose is already in the front seat.

"Hey, Bella," she greets me, getting out of her seat and sliding into the back.

"Oh! That's okay, Rose, I can sit in the back." I leave the seat tilted forward in case she'd like to switch.

"Don't worry about me, I'm fine back here." She buckles her seat belt and I push the seat back and get in. It takes us less than ten minutes to get to Emmett and Jasper's – they live over in Fremont in a complex that looks like nothing special but is clean and well-kept and actually has a lot of character once you're inside. It's light and airy with light, pastel colors on the walls and a fireplace that's surrounded with glass stones in various colors that create a crazy mosaic. Emmett, who is a big, bulky guy with dark curly hair and sparkling blue eyes skips the handshake and crushes me in a hug when Rosalie introduces me before setting me down in front of a lanky blonde. The blonde, who I'm guessing is Jasper, is only a few inches shorter than Emmett but looks flat out skinny in comparison. He's looking at me a little strangely, though not unkindly, as though he's trying to place me.

"I'm Bella," I say, holding out my hand to him. He takes it, tilts his head a bit and smiles.

"I'm Jasper," he says with a slight southern drawl. "I'm sorry – do we know each other from somewhere?"

"I doubt it. I just moved here from New York. Well, back here. I haven't lived here in about ten years."

"Cool. Well, it's nice to meet you. Can I get you a drink or anything?"

Alice and Rose were already in the kitchen and I could hear them talking to someone, probably a man judging by the deep timbre of the voice.

"Sure. Beer?"

"You bet. We've got a lot of different types. What kind do you like?" He waves me to follow him into the kitchen.

"Anything, really. Heffeweisen, maybe, if you've got that?" I trail after Jasper into the kitchen where Alice and Rose are standing on either side of a tall guy, the same slender build as Jasper, with messy, dark brown hair with a touch of auburn and green eyes framed by long lashes and black-rimmed glasses. His face is unshaven and he wears a too-big t-shirt with a NASA logo on it and baggy cargo shorts with converse sneakers that look like they're about two seconds from falling apart. I stop in my tracks because I recognize this man. This is the 'thanks but no thanks' guy.

He shifts his gaze to me when Jasper crosses the room to the fridge and I cross my arms over my chest. He looks uncomfortable, but I can't tell if it's because he recognizes me. It kind of seems like he doesn't, but he could be faking it.

"Bella!" Alice trills, "This is Edward, Emmett's brother. Edward, Bella is my best friend, she just moved back here from New York."

I hold out my hand to him, raising my eyebrow a bit. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't turning on a little of my attorney intimidation that I normally save for work. He switched the hand in which he held his beer, wiped his hands on his shorts and pushed his glasses back up his nose before he gripped my hand.

"Nice to meet you, _Edward_," I practically hiss, looking him up and down. "Or should I call you Maverick84?"

"Oh, shit," Alice, Rose and Jasper all mutter at the same time and my head snaps to Jasper then to Rose. How do they know about this?

I'm not sure who looks more confused at this moment: me, or Edward.

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><p><strong>Review if you've got a second - I love to hear what you think!<strong>

**LA**


	3. Chapter 2

**Hi! I'm back with another chapter. The chapters for Icebreaker will be shorter than my other stories, but not drabble short. I wanted to do something that I can turn out a little more quickly, in between _Wanderlust _ updates, so here it is!**

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><p><strong>I don't own Twilight or its characters. No copyright infringement is intended. This story is rated M (it'll earn it, I promise) and is intended for readers age 18 and over.<strong>

* * *

><p>ICEBREAKER<p>

CHAPTER 2

I look back at Edward and remove my hand from his grasp, crossing it back against my chest.

"I…I'm sorry. I don't understand," Edward stutters, his cheeks coloring with the slightest blush.

I grimace and look up at him. "I'm beginning to think I don't either." I look between Alice, Rosalie and Jasper. Alice is biting her lip and looking at me with a worried expression. Rosalie is biting her lip and looking up at Edward with a worried expression. Jasper just looks guilty.

"Bella, can I talk to you for a second? Alone?" Alice reaches out and grabs my elbow, dragging me into the small bathroom near the living room.

"I have a feeling I was a total bitch to that boy for no reason," I say, thinking of the slightly panicked look in Edward's green eyes when I squeezed his hand.

"Well, you were, but it wasn't your fault. Listen, do you remember earlier in the car when Rose was talking to Emmett and scolding him for bothering someone?"

I nod.

"Well, when I picked her up on the way back over to your place this afternoon, I asked her what it was he did. She said that he and Jasper – well, mostly Emmett – set up an online dating profile for Edward."

"So? What's wrong with that?"

"What's wrong with it is they didn't tell him. Emmett planned to get someone interested and then use it as a kind of blind date sort of thing. Edward's pretty shy and he doesn't put himself out there. Emmett's worried about him and wants him to find someone. Sometimes his desire to help his brother overrides what little common sense he seems to have." Alice rolls her eyes and shakes her head.

"So, what you're saying is that mister 'thanks, but no thanks' is Emmett, not Edward."

"Exactly. I gather that's not something Edward would typically say to a woman."

"Well, awesome. We're off to such a great start. Because, obviously, the best way to approach a cute boy who happens to be a little shy is to embarrass the shit out of him and make sure he thinks you're as bitchy as absolutely possible." Is the sarcasm in my voice is detectable?

Alice lights up at something I've said. "He is cute, isn't he? I mean, it seems like he does his best to hide it, but did you see those eyelashes? _God_."

We giggle together and for a couple of seconds, it's like we're back in high school again, laughing in my room before a party.

"Well, I should go apologize to him."

Alice flings open the bathroom door. "It can't hurt."

But when we go out to the living room, everyone is sitting on the couch. Everyone except Edward. And no one looks happy.

"I'm guessing things didn't go so well?" Alice asks.

"No. I wouldn't say they did," Jasper says, glaring at Emmett.

Maybe it was the confrontational attorney in me. Maybe I just care too much about what people think of me to let him go without saying I'm sorry for treating him badly. Maybe I just had a feeling about Edward. I'm not entirely sure what compelled me to say what came out of my mouth next.

"Tell me where he went," I command, looking directly at Emmett.

#IB#

It's not hard to find Edward in the tiny diner across the street from Gasworks. He sits near the back, in a booth with his back to the door, hunched over something I can't quite see from my place at the front.

"Hey, honey," the waitress greets me from behind the counter. "Go ahead and sit wherever you like." She's like something out of a movie with her pinned up hair, red lipstick and short gingham dress.

I nod and smile at her, then walk slowly toward the back of the diner, passing a couple who look like they've been together for half a century and a couple of pierced up, tattooed girls discussing the annoying hipster who apparently lives next door to them. Once I get right up behind Edward, I see that he's drawing something in a sketchbook. It looks like the beginnings of an airplane. He turns his head quickly when he detects my movement, then does a double take and slams the cover of his sketchbook closed.

"Do you mind if I sit down?" I ask him, moving slowly to the other side of the booth like he's likely to be spooked.

"Um, no. Sure. I mean, go ahead," he scrambles to move his sketchbook aside and pulls his half-empty coffee cup closer to him. I notice he hasn't had anything to eat.

I sit across from him and fold my hands in front of me, then unclasp them again and tap my finger on the Formica table top.

"Look, Edward. I know we don't know each other, so I hope I'm not making you too uncomfortable, but I just wanted to say that I'm sorry for the way I treated you. In my defense, I was operating under false pretenses. Namely, that you were a jerk-off who flat out shuts down women who ask him out for coffee. I mean, it's online dating for God's sake. It's not like people are coming out of the blue to hit on you. The _point_ is to get a date. You have to let people down a little easier. Well, not you exactly. Not in your case. You know what I mean." I stop myself before I can get too huffy about this again.

"You asked me out for coffee?" he looks surprised, but then his mouth pulls up into a bit of a crooked grin. He is so much cuter than he realizes, that's for damn sure.

"Well, I tried to. 'You' said 'thanks, but no thanks.'" I air quote with my fingers.

"I'm sorry about that." His grin falls and he looks away from me, out the window.

"You don't have to be sorry, Edward. It's not your fault. Let's just start fresh, okay?" I hold out my hand to him. "I'm Isabella Swan, but you can call me Bella."

The grin is back and he takes my hand. "Nice to meet you, Bella. I'm Edward Cullen."

"Glad to meet you, Edward. And I promise I'll just call you Edward." He laughs, softly, at that one. "I'd ask you for coffee again, but it looks like you beat me to it. I am hungry though. Do you mind if I stay and order something? I mean, only if you want to. I'm kind of tired of eating alone."

"Sure. Yeah, I could eat something."

"Perfect. " I wink at him and raise my hand to flag the waitress over.

His grin expands to a full smile and I beam back at him. He must not smile like that too often, because there's no way he'd still be single if he did.

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><p><strong>Thanks to everyone who's sticking with this! I know not everyone likes a shy Edward, but it's fun to have a change of pace from my WL Edward. Personally, I'll take Edward just about any way I can get him. Although, I'm not particularly fond of the exceedingly mean ones.<strong>

**Review if you've got a minute!**

**LA**


	4. Chapter 3

**Hi everyone! Today's chapter is a bit out of the box for me style-wise. I'm not sure how you are all going to like the format, but basically, unless you hate it, I'd like to have every few chapters be a third-person bit from characters involved in the story. Kind of the way the prologue was but it might be Edward, it could be Rose or Alice...you get the point. The rest of the chapters will be from Bella's POV. **

**Also, sorry for the delay in my updating some of my stories. We lost power for a good bit of last weekend and I got NOTHING done. I'm hoping the next chapter should be out in a couple of days - I'm working on the next Wanderlust chapter too, so we'll see.**

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><p><strong>I do not own Twilight or any of it's characters. No copyright infringement is intended. This story is rated M and intended only for readers over 18 years of age. <strong>

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><p>ICEBREAKER<p>

CHAPTER 3

Edward Cullen stood in front of the mirror that hung over the sink in his bathroom and looked at himself. He really, really looked at himself. It wasn't something he was in the practice of doing because he had not a reason to do it. His job did not require him to wear a tie, so he was never in need of straightening one. He didn't like to shave his face particularly close and as such, used a water-proof foil shaver while in the shower, running his hand over his jaw and chin when he was done in order to check for uniformity. Sure, he would catch a glimpse while brushing his teeth, make sure there was no toothpaste on his face, but that was about the extent of it.

He didn't find anything about his appearance to be too remarkable. Brown hair, with a little red in it. Green eyes. Teeth which were pretty straight - not quite perfect across the front - but not bad. A freckle on the side of his neck, just down below his ear, where his hairline began. He needed a haircut, he noticed that much. The cowlick at the back of his head of thick, bronze hair was out of control when it grew this long. Perhaps he would go and have it cut tomorrow, maybe into something a little more stylish. He wondered what kind of haircut would be considered stylish. He's always just asked for a trim. The most drastic haircut he'd ever gotten was a buzz cut and he hadn't done it again because the second the hair stylist finished, he'd regretted asking for it – he thought it made his glasses look strange, perched there on his face.

He lifted his shirt over his head and tossed it to the hamper in the corner then stepped out of his shorts and threw them over as well. The NASA shirt was one of his favorite shirts. It had been a gift from his mother and it was one, maybe two sizes too big because she was always misjudging him as being bigger than he was. Emmett was the bulky one, with a build big enough to pass for a professional football player. No matter though, he liked the shirt anyway.

Edward brushed his teeth then went to lie down on his king-size bed where his dog, Arrow, was sleeping. Arrow needed a haircut, too, by the looks of it. Her long black hair with the white patch on her chest was always out of control, but she looked a little less crazy when it was shorter. Arrow cracked one eye open and stirred as Edward slid under the covers before she stood up and moved closer to him in order to curl her tiny body against his neck. He moved his fingers to pet the long strands under her chin and chuckled to himself as she got comfortable with her head on the pillow, just as a human would sleep.

"I met someone today, Arrow," he told her, having long since gotten over feeling silly for talking to his dog as he would anyone else. She responded with a deep sigh and a little groan. She'd be asleep in seconds.

Edward reached out for his alarm clock, setting it early enough to make it to his barber and still have time left to bring Arrow to the groomer before he needed to be back. He took his glasses off, setting them carefully on the nightstand then clicked off the bedside lamp. He lay there considering what he should wear tomorrow and which restaurant might be the best. He didn't know on either account and resolved to ask Jasper about it. He did not want to ask his brother – their conversation earlier today had been less than pleasant.

When Edward Cullen finally slipped just past the edge of consciousness, it was with a nervous feeling in the pit of his stomach but a ghost of a smile on his lips. A beautiful and confident girl – the type of girl who usually looked right past him without so much as a second glance – had asked him out on a date. He would try his best not to be awkward. He would try his best to be a bit more talkative and outgoing. He would try his best to impress her.

For the first time in a long time, Edward went to sleep feeling good about himself.

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><p><strong>Arrow is a reference to one of my favorite movies from my childhood. Brownie points and gold stars to anyone who knows which movie that is.<strong>

**As always, if you've got a minute, review and let me know what you think!**

**LA**


	5. Chapter 4

**Hi! Sorry this took awhile to get out. I'm not abandoning this, I just put more work into _Wanderlust_ and I haven't had a lot of writing time recently! Thank you to NikMaryll for her tireless pimping of my stories. I have to be honest and say I'm not great at finding ways to get my stories out there, so I really appreciate that!**

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><p><strong>I do not own Twilight or any of its characters. No copyright infringement is intended. This story is rated M (it'll earn it eventually, I promise) and is not intended for readers under the age of 18.<strong>

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><p><strong>IC<strong>EBREAKER

CHAPTER 4

"So," I say, leaning back against the vinyl booth seat and taking a sip of my coffee, "tell me what you know about Edward."

"I can't say that I know him very well," Alice says from beside me, using her spoon to scrape the whipped cream from the top of the hot chocolate she ordered. I watch her a little jealously, wishing I'd ordered hot chocolate too. "He's always been polite to me, but he's pretty quiet. Despite what happened yesterday, I know that he and Emmett get along really well and he spends a lot of time with him and Jasper. I think he was roommates with them up until a couple of years ago, right?" Alice looks at Rose for validation.

Rose nods, tears open her third sugar packet and dumps it into her coffee. "I think most women just kind of overlook him," she muses, watching her spoon as it swirls in the black liquid, "which is pretty unfortunate. He's quiet, sometimes painfully so, but he's really sweet and he's incredibly smart."

"Oh, yeah," Alice interjects, "isn't he like some type of math savant?"

"Something like that. He did some project in college that got a lot of attention from some of the biggest aerospace firms. It had something to do with rockets or airplanes. He's an aeronautical engineer. I don't know if he told you that?" Rose tilts her head at me in question. I thought back to the glimpse of the sketch I thought I saw in his book. I'd thought it looked like an airplane and now I knew that was probably right.

"So he designs airplanes then?"

"Sometimes. I think he works on rockets more than airplanes," Rose says and sits back so the waitress can place her plate of pancakes and eggs in front of her. We halt our conversation long enough to thank her and ask if we can have more strawberry jam.

"Are you telling me he's an actual rocket scientist?" I glance back and forth between Alice and Rose.

"Yep," Rose says, popping the 'p' and turning her attention to her pancakes.

"So, what are you going to do on your date?"

I sigh and shake my head. "To be honest, I haven't really thought that far."

"Are you serious? You did say you were going out with him tonight, did you not?" Rose looks incredulous and Alice just looks worried.

"Yeah, you heard correctly. I asked him to pick the restaurant and I'll pick the activity. I just don't know what I'll pick."

Rose is thoughtful for a moment but picks up her phone and concentrates on the screen. She clicks her perfectly manicured, glossy red fingernails against the phone's glass screen and then lifts it to her ear.

"Hey, Claire. It's Rose. Say, will you be using your tickets tonight?" She listens for a minute and then speaks again. "Awesome! I'll see you there." Rose says goodbye to the person on the other line, who is apparently named Claire, and hangs up.

"Problem solved. You're going to the symphony."

I'm dumbfounded at how quickly she orchestrated that. "What? The symphony? Won't that be a little…boring? For a first date I mean." I throw in that last bit so she doesn't think I'm ungrateful. I am grateful, just doubtful.

"Bella." Rose presses her lips into a tight line and raises her perfect eyebrow at me. "Of course it will be boring. I mean, classical music is just fine, but it's not the way you want to spend a first date, I get it."

"So, then-," I start but Rose holds her hand up to stop me.

"I said it's not the way _you_ want to spend a first date. But it is the perfect way for _Edward _to spend a first date. I know he really likes the symphony, he always goes with Esme when she's in town."

"Who's Esme?"

"Em and Edward's mom."

"Oh."

"Anyway, it's something he'll enjoy without having to be worried about keeping up the conversation."

I can see her point. "Well, thanks Rose. I really appreciate this. What do I owe you? Or the person you got them from?"

She waves me off and picks up her coffee to suck down the last sip. "Don't worry about it. Claire's mother-in-law gave her season tickets for Christmas. It's not really her thing and she's been trying to get me to take some forever. Easing her guilt caused by not using them is payment enough."

"Still, at least give me her address so I can send her a thank-you note?"

"Sure, sure," Rose stands up from the table, abandoning her still half-full plate and loops the strap of her bag over her shoulder. "I'll be by your house at five with the tickets."

#IB#

"_Hi. You've reached Edward Cullen. Thanks for calling. If you leave your name and number, I'll call you back as soon as I can. Um…have a nice day."_

I can't help but smile at his voicemail greeting. I've only spent a couple of hours with him, if that, but from what I know about him, this voicemail is just so _him_. It's a little formal and a little unsure, but so adorable.

"Hey, Edward. It's Bella. I just wanted to let you know that I got us tickets to the symphony tonight. I hope that's okay. See you at six."

I end the call and glance at the clock on the microwave across from where I stand. Four-thirty. It wasn't until I started picking my own clothes that it occurred to me that I should probably call Edward and let him know what my plans were. What if he dressed casually and then felt out of place when I expected him to sit there in Benaroya Hall, surrounded by other people who will probably be dressed up?

As for myself, I chose a short silk dress in gunmetal grey, blousy on top and tight around my hips in a sort of modern flapper style. I picked out my favorite black high heels – platformed, peep-toe, patent leather and sky-high. I just hope it isn't too much.

After spending extra time in the shower shaving my legs and making sure everything else is looking tidy (hey – Edward might not be the kind of guy to move very fast, but you can never be too prepared), I'm running a little late with my make-up and finishing my hair. I go with dark, smoky eye-makeup and glossy, nude lips but it's still pretty simple overall. It takes me almost thirty minutes to dry my hair and when I use my curling wand to put the last wave in and hair-spray it all into place, it's ten to six.

I scurry to my bedroom and drop my towel before spritzing myself with perfume. I debate whether or not I should wear nylons because my legs are so damn pale but eventually decide against it figuring it's Seattle and everyone is pale. My doorbell rings when I've still only got on my bra and panties and I grab my dress and begin trying to get it over my head without smearing my makeup while I walk to the door.

I grab the handle and swing open the door and –

"Whoa."

I slap my hand over my mouth, because I didn't mean to say that out loud. Standing in front of me is Edward, or a man who looks very similar to him but with a very GQ haircut. It's short on the sides and longer on the top in a kind of thirties, depression-era sort of style. There's some sort of product in it, keeping the longer portion in check. It's polished, it's masculine and it's just so fucking hot. Not to mention, the scruff on his face is a great contrast so he looks a little rugged. His clothes are kind of what I would have expected him to wear based on what he had on yesterday - he's wearing a black suit that might be a touch too big for him and a blue and red striped tie that reminds me of something a politician would wear. It's not high-fashion, but it's not bad. Not at all.

I pull my hand away from my mouth and step back to allow him to come in. He's blushing like mad and I realize I haven't said anything to him at all aside from my initial reaction to his hair. I'm not going to bullshit him and pretend like my mini-outburst wasn't about the new look and I go right for it.

"You got your hair cut."

"Oh. Um, yeah." His fingers are playing with the tip of his tie and he's looking down at his shoes like they are incredibly interesting. "It was getting too long."

"Well, it suits you." I lean over to slip on my high heels and use it as an excuse to catch his gaze. "You look very handsome."

Very handsome? Jesus Christ. What was I, eighty years old? I roll my eyes at myself and grab my clutch from the kitchen counter.

"So, where to?" I ask, smiling up at him. Even with my heels on, I'm just to his shoulder.

"Um, well, I didn't really expect that we'd do something where we had to dress up, so I didn't make reservations anywhere nice. I'm sorry," he says. There's a look of either disappointment or embarrassment on his face, I'm not sure which.

"Don't worry, it's cool," I say, placing a hand on his forearm. I heard once that helps people feel more relaxed and connected to you. Can't hurt to try. "I don't need anything fancy. Where did you have in mind before you knew what we were doing?"

"Just this little barbeque place over in Fremont. I can think of something else though."

"Does this place have potato salad?"

He nods. "Three kinds."

"Well, then. Lead the way, sir." His face breaks out in a wide, infectious grin. I step out my front door and wait for him to follow before I lock it behind him. "I never did like fancy restaurants anyway."

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><p><strong>Dinner and symphony up next. Review if you've got a minute! Thanks for reading!<strong>

**LA**


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